Dog breeding, even if you aren’t a professional, is serious business. Few Indians understand that.

In a lane of Delhi’s tony Khan Market, there is a hard-to-miss matrimonial advertisement pinned to a wall that would fit right into the pages of most Indian newspapers: “Lonely, fair and handsome, three-year-old Golden Labrador (Ludhiana caste, settled in Delhi) seeks homely female of the same community. Must be blonde, slim, beautiful, well-behaved, well-groomed, smart with good family values. Feminist/smoker/drinker girl-dogs need not apply.”

On the same wall, another golden retriever advertises that he is seeking a fun-loving, beautiful and intelligent “wifey to settle down and start a family with”.

“If humans can have matrimonials, why not dogs?” asked Atul Khanna, who wrote, printed and pasted a poster in Khan Market looking for a mate for his dog Moltu, a 2.5-year-old Maltese, whom he described as “independent and spunky”. Though Moltu and Khanna are yet to receive a response, the 48-year-old PR consultant and Moltu’s wingman said patience was key when it came to looking for the right mate.

In a city where urban alienation is high, it appears to be getting harder for both people and dogs to find new partners. Fellow dog-lover, Prateek Saraf, 42, rued the lack of options online: “Pages exist but they are not active.” Saraf’s ad for his two-year-old terrier reads: “Now my folks want me to settle down and have my own family so if you are interested, call them…”

Unlike most canines, human dog owners have high expectations about what compatibility for their prospective pet’s mates should include. If using humour like “golden retriever caste looking for mate from same community” is in poor taste in a caste-ridden society, animal lovers and activists say there is another reason to worry.

“This is probably the dog owners’ way of showering love on their dog, or just being cute,” said Pallavi Dar. “But how many of them really know that dog breeding – even if you are not a professional breeder – is serious business? You can’t just mate your dog and give away or sell off puppies – you need to have a licence for that.” Dar volunteers at a dog shelter in Noida.

Despite clear guidelines from the Animal Welfare Board of India, an advisory body under the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Dar said few people pay heed to the ethics of dog breeding. “Many dog owners might not even know anything about the basic guidelines that state the ideal age for mating the dog, the frequency at which it should be mated, the important supplements and veterinary care to be given to the pregnant dog, new-born puppies and the lactating mother, and up to what age they should be allowed to birth puppies,” she said.

Seema Menon was fortunate to grow up on a tea estate where the hills gave her numerous dogs – both pedigree and desis – a lot of space to run around. “City homes with their polished floors should be the last place for the big-built dogs and even the small species that are not suitable for our climate,” she said. The Gurgaon-based entrepreneur had a German Shepherd who suffered epileptic attacks from the age of one. Menon speculated that one of the puppy’s parents may have had a genetic condition which she knew nothing of when they were mated. Tragically, the dog had to be put down when he was just five.

Before Simba died, Menon was asked if she would like to mate him with another German Shepherd – in turn, she was promised her pick of the litter: a new puppy to replace her dying dog. “I refused pointblank. The pups would have, in all probability, inherited Simba’s condition.”

Dr Kiran Rao, a veterinarian, said, “Like humans who find matches for their children through advertisements or through some relatives and friends, and then check their gotrams to keep any genetic problems at bay, you must find a good match for your dog only from people you know well – like vets, dog trainers, etc. who can be answerable in case things go wrong. Look for those partners that have been registered with the Kennel Club of India.”

Inbreeding – the mating of closely related dogs – needs to be controlled, insist animal activists. It might keep the purity of the bloodline intact, but it limits the genetic stock, causing a number of problems. Inbreeding can lead to sick, unhealthy and stunted puppies with heart problems, deafness and respiratory issues, hip dysplasia, bow legs and other health complications which start surfacing when the puppies are between three and six months old. Once puppies fall sick, they are frequently abandoned. A purebred is cheaper to buy than care for.

The injudicious breeding of purebred dogs to get more purebred puppies often means that the puppies are separated from their mothers too early, something which can lead to health complications early on.

Shiv Marwah, who picked up his Golden Retriever when he was just a month old, said his vet could not decipher what was wrong with Carrot for a long time. Finally, the doctor realised that Carrot’s problems were likely the result of having been taken away from his mother when he had spent less than the mandatory 45 days with her.

“In just the six months that he lived, Carrot was constantly on drips, antibiotics and medicines through the day,” Marwah, 42, said. “The X-ray and blood reports did not reveal anything, it was heart-rending to see him suffer so much. It all ended much too tragically for all of us – and although it’s been about two years since Carrot went, our ten-year-old son, Rohan, still weeps in his memory.”

Pranjal Dias, who runs a kennel for dogs in Goa, said many people believe pedigree dogs are better behaved while strays genetically “belong to the street”. She laughed recalling this, surrounded by the nine strays she adopted off the streets, each one of them absolutely domesticated.

Talking about how she is often asked to turn matchmaker (“because I am in touch with many dog owners”), she said, “I am aware of their background, so I do help out dog owners, but insist that all health and bloodline issues of the potential partner be checked out first. Because you never know, which dog could be passing on the aberrant genes.”

Advice from an ex-robber on how to keep your home safe

Tips on a more hands-on approach of keeping your house secure.

Home, a space that is entirely ours, holds together our entire world. Where our children grow-up, parents grow old and we collect a lifetime of memories, home is a feeling as much as it’s a place. So, what do you do when your home is eyed by miscreants who prowl the neighbourhood night and day, plotting to break in? Here are a few pre-emptive measures you can take to make your home safe from burglars:

1. Get inside the mind of a burglar

Before I break the lock of a home, first I bolt the doors of the neighbouring homes. So that, even if someone hears some noise, they can’t come to help.

— Som Pashar, committed nearly 100 robberies.

Burglars study the neighbourhood to keep a check on the ins and outs of residents and target homes that can be easily accessed. Understanding how the mind of a burglar works might give insights that can be used to ward off such danger. For instance, burglars judge a house by its front doors. A house with a sturdy door, secured by an alarm system or an intimidating lock, doesn’t end up on the burglar’s target list. Upgrade the locks on your doors to the latest technology to leave a strong impression.

Here are the videos of 3 reformed robbers talking about their modus operandi and what discouraged them from robbing a house, to give you some ideas on reinforcing your home.

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2. Survey your house from inside out to scout out weaknesses

Whether it’s a dodgy back door, a misaligned window in your parent’s room or the easily accessible balcony of your kid’s room, identify signs of weakness in your home and fix them. Any sign of neglect can give burglars the idea that the house can be easily robbed because of lax internal security.

You don’t need to plant intricate booby traps like the ones in the Home Alone movies, but try to stay one step ahead of thieves. Keep your car keys on your bed-stand in the night so that you can activate the car alarm in case of unwanted visitors. When out on a vacation, convince the burglars that the house is not empty by using smart light bulbs that can be remotely controlled and switched on at night. Make sure that your newspapers don’t pile up in front of the main-door (a clear indication that the house is empty).

4. Protect your home from the outside

Collaborate with your neighbours to increase the lighting around your house and on the street – a well-lit neighbourhood makes it difficult for burglars to get-away, deterring them from targeting the area. Make sure that the police verification of your hired help is done and that he/she is trustworthy.

While many of us take home security for granted, it’s important to be proactive to eliminate even the slight chance of a robbery. As the above videos show, robbers come up with ingenious ways to break in to homes. So, take their advice and invest in a good set of locks to protect your doors. Godrej Locks offer a range of innovative locks that are un-pickable and un-duplicable. To secure your house, see here.

The article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Godrej Locks and not by the Scroll editorial team.